Illinois business leaders tended to favor the former Florida governor in the Republican presidential contest, but that hasn't worked out so well. Many of those donors are now shifting toward U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, also of Florida, Crain's Greg Hinz and Shia Kapos report.

Maybe they need to talk to Rubio's former debate opponent Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Meanwhile, some business leaders are hopping on the stop-Trump movement. But guess who is leading in Illinois, with 28 percent, in a new poll?

These dirty tricks don't measure up to Nixon's

On the eve of the Nevada Republican caucuses, U.S. Sen Ted Cruz of Texas fired his communications director for spreading a video that falsely showed Rubio mocking the Bible, the New York Times reports.

“Even if it was true, we are not a campaign that is going to question the faith of another candidate,” Cruz said. That's Pope Francis' job.

The episode, a Facebook post and a tweet of the video struck a chord because the Cruz campaign has been dogged by his opponents for alleged dirty tricks since the night of the Iowa caucuses, when the campaign spread a false report that Ben Carson was pulling out of the race.

Kirk was killing us with the suspense

Nine days after U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed to block a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia until after the November election, Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., says in an op-ed in the Chicago Sun-Times that the Senate should vote on Presidential Barack Obama's eventual nominee. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is the only other Republican to clearly call for a vote.

It's a smart position for Kirk, who's facing a tough re-election fight. But it's also a safe one. There's little chance he'll actually have to vote on an Obama nominee now that Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has come around to McConnell's position.

Kirk even offers Obama some advice—no charge—saying his nominee should “not speak or act in the extreme,” mimicking House Speaker Michael Madigan, who likes to accuse Rauner of being “extreme.”

Quoting Mr. T, 'I pity the fool'

While Kirk praised Obama's call for less “rancor and partisanship” in politics in his Sun-Times op-ed, he was calling U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Hoffman Estates, a “fool” in an op-ed also published yesterday in the National Review. It's election season, so the new rules of “better politics” are not in effect, not that they will go into effect after the election.

Kirk's charge stems from a disjointed comment by Duckworth during a Feb. 8 appearance before the Tribune editorial board of the Democratic candidates for Senate. Duckworth said two Iraqi refugees arrested on terrorism-related charges in January were radicalized “because they see people like Mark Kirk demonizing Muslim and Islam and wanting to shut down our borders.”

Duckworth's comment was actually a gift to Kirk, who is using it to attack her for saying the U.S. should admit 100,000 refugees from Syria, while Kirk has called for a ban.

Duckworth's life in 30 seconds

The Duckworth campaign said it is starting to broadcast an innocuous television ad that recaps the life of the former U.S. Army helicopter pilot. The commercial flicks at policy at the end when an announcer says Duckworth will work “to make student loans affordable and retirements secure.” Surely there was a promise she could have made to 30-somethings, just to cover all the demographics.

Nearly two-thirds of likely voters in the Democratic primary support her, according to a recent poll commissioned by another candidate, giving Duckworth little incentive to spend heavily.

Meanwhile, it's a happy time of year for local television stations. Flossmoor lawyer Kimberly Foxx, a candidate for Cook County state's attorney, also launches a new ad today, Politico reports.

Has Rauner issued one veto too many?

By nixing a bill that appropriates $721 million for Monetary Award Program scholarships and other higher education programs, Gov. Bruce Rauner bears “much of the blame for a public relations disaster that's almost impossible to spin in a positive way,” Greg Hinz says.

Last year, Rauner pushed to exempt early-childhood programs and education from kindergarten through high school from the budget impasse, while social service programs and colleges have felt the brunt of the deadlock. The governor “now appears to be cherry-picking,” Hinz says.

Meanwhile, DePaul University said it will cover financial aid this fall for new students who apply for state assistance, a guarantee that goes beyond promises to currently enrolled students at DePaul and other schools, Crain's Steve Strahler reports.

Even Madigan can thank the governor for something

After Rauner concluded his budget address, he turned to shake Michael Madigan's hand, and the House Speaker leaned in and sarcastically said, "Thanks for the candidate," according to Rich Miller of Capitol Fax. Madigan holds Rauner responsible for his challenger in the Democratic primary.

How about a methadone program for borrowing?

Rauner tried to rattle City Hall again, warning that the state could block additional borrowing by the Chicago Public Schools, which narrowly avoided running out of cash this school year by borrowing $725 million, Reuters reports. Talk about cold turkey.

The bond market might do that blocking for him, but if it doesn't, do you want to venture a guess whether Rauner wants to take the heat for shutting down the nation's third-largest school district?

Turnaround Lincolnshire

Four unions sued north suburban Lincolnshire, challenging a “right-to-work” ordinance that is a cornerstone of Rauner's “Turnaround Agenda," the Daily Herald reports. The law, a largely symbolic move, was pushed by Mayor Elizabeth Brandt, who is chairman of Treasurer Leslie Munger's campaign. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has already opined that such municipal ordinances are illegal.

Another reason to hate red-light cameras

City Hall violated due process by routinely ignoring its own requirement of sending two notices before fining motorists who receive red-light camera and speed-camera tickets, a Cook County Circuit Court ruled.

The class-action lawsuit could cover roughly $200 million in fines or penalties imposed since 2003, one of the plaintiffs' lawyers estimate, the Sun-Times reports. How does the city get into these messes? Bad lawyering, city officials who don't listen, or both?

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